Here at Pixelmate, we meet people practically every day who often have a great idea for a start-up. From time to time, however, the founders are of the opinion that the idea and the software engineer are enough to succeed in the market.
In today's article, we are going to write some hints and recommendations on how to avoid unnecessary failure right at the beginning of the project. The founder often, without much experience in starting online projects, embarks on programming without the basic prerequisites for successful launch.
What are the most common opinions of founders of start-ups, where we immediately light up a warning signal?
- "I have a brilliant idea, I found a programmer friend, but it takes too long. Can you finish it for me?"
- "I'm looking for a developer to listen to me and then develop my project."
- "I got a great idea for the app, but I don't have the money to start or experience. Will you help me?"
In the beginning, you need a strong partner
It's a huge advantage when you have someone at the beginning of a project to help you avoid the most common start-up errors. Often these are simple recommendations to help you save a lot of money and time. It's no shame you're not an expert in building apps or starting start-ups. It's important to be able to surround yourself with such people though.
Business a marketing
The business and marketing side is often neglected in tech start-ups. This should always be a very important part of the project and it must be planned from the very beginning. It is also one of the most common mistakes that a novice start-upist makes - he gives tasks to the programmer and does not think that every project functionality must be consulted and designed in accordance with business and marketing. The times when it was enough to place the app on the appstore and thus guarantee its visibility are long gone.
One programmer for a start-up is not enough
Practically, a start-up is never “too small” for one programmer only. But you can count on us - when it comes to web applications, you need at least one person per frontend, one on the backend and a quality designer, project architect and tester. Such number of people require coordination from the project manager, who will manage the whole project and ensure effective development. If you add a mobile app, the number of people can easily multiply.
Project financing
Another important aspect of the project is the funding itself. At the beginning, you need to answer these questions:
- Can you get the project on the market on your own?
- Would you like to invite an investor to the project? If so, at what stage?
- Can you calculate the cost of the project development, management and other development?
- Do you have a well-thought-out revenue side of the project? How much should the app earn after the first year, two?
These questions and many more need to be thought through before you start developing the project. This avoids inviting investors at the wrong time and losing a start-up or running out of money at the worst moment.
Choosing the right people, contacts and first employees
Selecting the right team is also key to the success of a start-up. This is actually the case in all fields. You will expand abroad in a completely different way, with people who already have some experience with it. In the app development, you will develop it much faster and cheaper with pros than with a bunch of students who are on their first project. Especially in the beginning, contacts to the right people, whether they are marketing or business consultants, product managers or really professional programmers, architects and UX designers, can help you a ton. In the beginning, it is almost impossible to find such a team, but you can externally hire it and gradually employ as your own people as the project grows.
The most important thing - partnership
Finally, it is worth repeating how crucial it is to have the right people at the beginning of the project. Starting a start-up isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be unrealistic if you have someone to consult, to turn to, and whom to delegate less important matters.
At Pixelmate, we enjoy helping start-ups and provide long-term support not only in development, but also in developing strategies, expanding and addressing all the issues that start-ups solve at their beggining phases.
If you're looking for something more than just a developer, email us. ?
